Tang Qianli, Jiang Qiuyan, Sooranna Suren R, Lin Shike, Feng Yuanyuan, Zhang Qi, Wang Meili, Wang Yu
Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Key Lab of Western Guangxi High Incident Disease, Baise, Guangxi 533000, China.
Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, Guangxi 530023, China.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2016;2016:9068257. doi: 10.1155/2016/9068257. Epub 2016 Jul 28.
To observe the effects of electroacupuncture on pain threshold of laboring rats and the expression of norepinephrine transporter and α2 adrenergic receptor in the central nervous system to determine the mechanism of the analgesic effect of labor. 120 pregnant rats were divided into 6 groups: a control group, 4 electroacupuncture groups, and a meperidine group. After interventions, the warm water tail-flick test was used to observe pain threshold. NE levels in serum, NET, and α2AR mRNA and protein expression levels in the central nervous system were measured. No difference in pain threshold was observed between the 6 groups before intervention. After intervention, increased pain thresholds were observed in all groups except the control group with a higher threshold seen in the electroacupuncture groups. Serum NE levels decreased in the electroacupuncture and MP groups. Increases in NET and α2AR expression in the cerebral cortex and decreases in enlarged segments of the spinal cord were seen. Acupuncture increases uptake of NE via cerebral NET and decreases its uptake by spinal NET. The levels of α2AR are also increased and decreased, respectively, in both tissues. This results in a decrease in systemic NE levels and may be the mechanism for its analgesic effects.
观察电针对分娩大鼠痛阈及中枢神经系统去甲肾上腺素转运体（NET）和α2肾上腺素能受体（α2AR）表达的影响，以明确电针分娩镇痛的作用机制。将120只孕鼠分为6组：对照组、4个电针组和哌替啶组。干预后，采用温水甩尾试验观察痛阈。检测血清中去甲肾上腺素（NE）水平、NET以及中枢神经系统中α2AR的mRNA和蛋白表达水平。干预前6组痛阈无差异。干预后，除对照组外其他各组痛阈均升高，电针组痛阈更高。电针组和哌替啶组血清NE水平降低。大脑皮质中NET和α2AR表达增加，脊髓相应节段表达减少。针刺可增加大脑NET对NE的摄取，减少脊髓NET对NE的摄取。两种组织中α2AR水平也分别升高和降低。这导致全身NE水平降低，可能是其产生镇痛作用的机制。
